Desmopuntius

Probably a micropredator feeding on small insects, worms, crustaceans and other zooplankton in nature. In the aquarium it will accept dried foods of a suitable size but should not be fed these exclusively. Daily meals of small live and frozen fare such as Daphnia, Artemia, and suchlike will result in the best colouration and encourage the fish to come into breeding condition. It's a schooling species by natur...

D. foerschi is sometimes traded as 'boomerang barb' or 'Foersch's fire barb' and is included in a group of closely-related, similar-looking fishes which were moved into the new genus Desmopuntius by Kottelat (2013). It can be told apart from other vertically-striped congeners by possession of additional dark blotches between the second, third and fourth vertical bars and a further marking at the posterior base o...

The type series was purchased from a market in Jambi province, eastern Sumatra, Indonesia and this species is also known from neighbouring Riau province plus the island province of Bangka. On Sumatra it may be restricted to the Indragiri and Batang Hari river systems. Inhabits peat swamp forests and associated black water streams in which the water is typically stained brown with humic acids and other chemicals released by decaying organic material. The dissolved mineral content is generally negligible and the pH can be as...

Native to parts of southern Borneo, eastern Sumatra, Singapore, and the Malay Peninsula. In Singapore it's considered highly-endangered and is now restricted to the Central Catchment nature reserve. Type locality is 'Tuluk and Gunung Sahilan, Sumatra, Indonesia' which appears to correspond to localities within the Kampar River drainage of which the former is now known as Teluk Meranti and is o...

D. johorensis can be distinguished by the following combination of characters: 5-6 dark, lateral stripes on body in specimens larger than 40 mm; stripes immediately above and below the central stripe (stripes '+1' and '-1', respectively) located on scale rows +2 and -2, not touching dorsal and ventral midlines (except in some small specimens from Peninsular Malaysia); stripes broad, typically between 0.5-1 scale rows deep...

This species is rare in the aquarium trade with the majority of fish available under the name or the vernacular 'pentazona barb' being the closely-related D. hexazona. The two are almost identical in terms of both appearance and meristics but can be separated by the fact that D. pentazona possesses a small dark marking at the posterior base of the dorsal-fin which is absent in D. hexazona.

Endemic to southern Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo where it's been recorded from several river systems including the Kapuas, Kepayang, Barito and Kahajan. Type locality is given as 'Canal along the highway from Oelin to Bandjermasin, about 15 kilometers from Bandjermasin, Borneo.' Often referred to as the 'rhomb' or 'rhombo' barb and included in a group of closely-related, similar-looking congeners which also includes...

This species is one of three similar-looking members of the genus alongside D. johorensis and D. trifasciatus, while it may also be confused with Striuntius lineatus. Juveniles of all except S. lineatus exhibit a vertically-barred rather than laterally-striped colour pattern, the metamorphosis to adult patterning beginning at around 20 mm SL and normally being complete by 30-40 mm.